Q. What are the more important characteristic of Romantic poetry?
Romantic period is the most distinctive and remarkable stage of English literature. It has a different tone, exceptional massage, charming taste and ardent glow.
Subjectivity: - All romantic literature is subjective. It is an expression of the inner urges of the soul of the artist. The poet writes according to his own fancy and is often guilty of wild excesses. Romantic poetry is fanciful, introspective and is often marked by extravagance.
Spontaneity poetry: - Romantic poetry is spontaneous overflow of powerful passions. The Romantic poet is gifted with a strong ‘organic sensibility, he feels more than there is to feel and sees more than there is to see. Even ordinary objects and incidents excite his imagination and set up in him powerful passion. Substances more important for him than the form in romantic poetry.
With out touch of artificiality:- Romantic poetry is formed with out touch of artificiality. What ever the poets write in a natural way. The poets do not core of heart and fast rules of meters, rhymes and verses. Wordsworth raised his voice against the inane and artificial diction of the 18th century classics and advocated the use of the language of the common man for purposes of poetry. So we can say that, the touch of nature is very much a cute in Romantic literature.
Love of nature: - Zest for the beauties of the external world is the main trait of all the Romantic poetry. Romantic poetry carrying us away from the suffocating atmosphere of cities in to the fresh natural world. Romantic poetry are very hypnotise by the beauties of nature like the top hills, mountains, cantracts etc. William Wordsworth expresses in tin tern abbey-----
‘The sounding cataract haunted me like a passion the tall rock, the mountains, their colures and forms, were then to me an appetite.’
Love of the supernatural: - Love of supernatural is also one of the traits of Romanticism, and is a important element in Romantic inspiration. Romantic is extraordinarily alive to the wonder, mystery and beauty of the universe. He feels the presence of unseen power in nature. The supernatural has a special charm for the poet. He is attracted by the stories of fairies, ghosts and witchcraft.
Examine Emily Dickinson treatment of the various themes in his poems.
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Comment on Emily Dickinson as a poet of
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Discuss the main theme of Emily Dickinson’s Poetry.
In the modern poetic world of
Emily Dickinson feels the necessity and profundity of nature. It plays an important role to make her poetic theme glorious and age –worthy. She considers nature as the gentlest mother as she finds mother- like love amidst nature. In this sense, we can compare her with her contemporary poet Robert Frost whose poetic talent goes to the profundity of nature. Besides, we find a strange similarity between Emily Dickinson and Wordsworth in respect of dealing with the theme of nature. She finds the innate mystery of nature. She has described the sunrise and sunset in a single remarkable line ----------
“Blazing in gold and quenching in purple”
But we come to see that she has a great difference with William Wordsworth because she dose not believe in pantheism. Actually, We cannot refuse her acute fascination to nature especially in the poems “A Bird come down the walk” and “ A Narrow Fellow in the Grass” Both the above poems exhibit her deep feeling concerning the beauty of nature and of course, the theme of the4se poems focuses artistic philosophy.
Emily Dickinson’s treatment of love shows her as a representative figure in the field of love and emotion. Her love poems are psychological as Well as autobiographical. Her famous poem “ In winter in my room” expresses her love- affairs in which we find the conflict between reality and subconscious mind. No doubt, it is a poem based on emotions as well as reality. Perhaps her love affairs are greatly expressed in her famous poem “Dare you see a soul”. Like some other poems, in this poem we see that love goes to the spiritual world from the present world but there is a conflict between the two worlds.
The theme of pain suffering is also an organic part of her poetic theme. Actually, Emily Dickinson is a poet of universal grief who’s poetic feeling goes on with the stream of eternal sufferings. Two of his poems are really very famous in the famous in the field of pain and suffering-------------- It was not death, for I stood up and The first days Night had come. In the first poem the poet feels the grief of death, which was unbearable to her, but with the passage of time she feels the courage of standing up. Besides The first Days night had come is such a poem, which shows her personal grief, and at this crucial moment, she is really shocked. Not only that, her another poem I Measure every Grief I meet shows her philosophy of pain, misery, anguish and despair.
Death and immortality have covered an important place in her poetic world . The range of her poetic treatment of death varies and she regards it as the great unknown and mysterious issue. A noteworthy poem The Last Night that she lived exhibits her imagination of death as the graceful departure. But miss Dickinson’s Because I could not stop for Death is such a poem, which reflects her views on the theme of death and immortality as well as on her artistic perfection. I Felt Funeral in My Brain is also a brilliant poem, which expresses her deep agony in case of thinking about funeral in her brain. But we see that she is devoted to the existence of God because she feels that only God can remove all kinds of negative aspects and suffering. She believes on the immortality of soul and she expresses her deep feelings about the existence of God in this way---------
“The only one I meet
Is God”
Actually, Emily Dickinson seems to be an American poet who can be compared with Walt Whitman because both of them believe in democracy. But Emily Dickinson believes in the freedom of using common language when Whitman believes in the democracy of the human beings in respect of peace, tolerance and brotherhood.
As a poet, she reaches the highest peak of human psychology. She explains the problems of her personal life and she has tried her best to get the answer from her interior monologue. She talks to herself but ultimately it seems to be unique and universal as it because the problems of every human being. After all, she is a poet of not only America rather her poetic talent spreads out through out the whole world. She is not only a modern poet but also a poet of all ages.
So, the final assessment goes in favour of Emily Dickinson that she trancends her poetic range to make her immortal and universal. Her universe is the universe of all people. Her poetry shows her personal confession through bitter experience. Then can we minimize her greatness as a modern poet?
| Mohammad. Tazul Islam Sarker Diploma in Human Rights Mobile-01911-264586/01717545492 Email-Tazul_taz@yahoo.com |
Q. What are the main trends of Victorian Literature?
Victorian period reflects an excellent literature progress with the artistic touch of innumerable writers. Victorian period is mainly an age of scientific progress social change, crime and punishment and finally it is an age of novels.
Unlimited progress: - In the beginning of the era there was a widespread faith in unlimited progress. This sense of self-satisfaction resulted from the immense strides that England had taken in the industrial and scientific fields. They nations was prospering and growing richer and richer everyday. Money values prevailed and as result of increased materialism of the age, art and culture suffered. They attributed all this prosperity of their glorious and dominant Queen Victoria. It was an era of prosperity, an era to aggressive nationalism, and era of rising imperialism. Emphasis was on faith, faith in one’s religion, faith in the queen and those in authority and contributions progress.
Industrial revolution: - The industrial Revolution gradually destroyed old agricultural England. It shook the supremacy of the aristocratic class. This new class, quite naturally, clamoured for power and prestige, both political and social and did not agree to the accepted order of things. As a result, there was a great impact on the Victorian society.
Spirit of woman emancipations: - The spirit of emancipation is nowhere seen to better advantage in the Victorian period. Victorian age is an age of woman’s emancipation. That entire time woman got their self-right, facilities and other privileges like men. Woman came out from the all past rigidities and conformities of the so-called rigid society. Woman participated at most in all sectors of the society. Woman becomes writer’s scientists, educationists and other service holders. Florence Night gale, Jane, Austin, Emile Bronte, and Jane and so on played a vital role in bringing woman from kitchen to the enlightened world.
Dichotomy between science and religions: - The rapid advance of science accelerated the breakup of Victorian traditions and conventions. Science with its emphasis on reason rather than on faith encouraged the sprit of questioning. Victorian beliefs, both religious and social, were subject to a searching scrutiny and founding wanting. Darwin’s is the special significance from this point of view. His theory carried conviction as it was logically developed and supported. Man faith in orthodox religion was taken; he could no longer accept without question God’s mercy. Man had lost his mooring in God, Religion and nature.
Q. In what different ways is the Modern spirit of questioning reflected in the literature of the period?
Modern period is the most outstanding phase of English literature, which is imbued with its ins and outs –both black and white acpeets. Modern Age is mainly an age of confusion, frustration, moral perplexity and free sex, confusion and anxiety, scepticism, dichotomy between science and religion.
Industrialisation and Urbanisation: - Industrialisation and urbanization brought a great change in modern age. For this reason there have risen problems like the problem of over –crowding, housing, shortage, a significant increase in vice and crime, fall in the standards of sexual morality and a rapidly increasing ugliness. The atmosphere has increasingly grown more and more smoky and noisy and city slums raise their ugly heads on all sides. Early 20th century poetry vividly reflects all these evil effects of industrialization. For example we see the very picture in waste land---
`Here is no water but sandy rock
No water and sandy road.’
Scepticism: - Scepticism was very much prevalent in modern times. The century ushered in an era of moral perplexity and uncertainty. The rise of the scientific spirit and nationalism led to a questioning of accepted social beliefs, contentions and traditions. In matters of religion it gave rise to skepticism and agnosticism. By the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. We find writers, like Shaw, wells and Gals worthy criticizing the very basis of the existing social.
Confusion and anxiety: - Confusion and anxiety were also acquite at the time. This atmosphere of perplexity, confusion and anxiety has been further accentuated by the long strides forward that the study of psychology has taken since the times of Freud. Freud emphasized the power of unconscious to affect conduct. His theory of ``the Oedipus complex’’ has caused a sensation.
Moral perplexity and free sex: - Moral perplexity is the another striking aspect of modernism. Sexual renunciation has ceased to be a theme of literature, interest in sex perversion has grown and there is a free and frank discussion of sex. Victorian taboos on sex are no longer operative. There is a break up of the old authoritarian pattern in family relationship, the assessment of the relative roles of the sexes has changed, woman has come to her own, and the notion of male superiority has suffered a serious blow. Eliot’s waste Land reveals a harrowing consciousness of this phenomenon of the 20th century city life.
Frustration: - Frustration is the major aspect of modernism .As soon as people are getting developed. They are getting more frustrated. People of this age have every thing but those cannot satisfy them .All these uncertainty frustration make peoples life empty cages. We get in T.S Eliot- the love song of Alfred prufrock. . Here prufrock is a frustrated, dubious man Here he is the perfect example of modernism.
Finally it can be said that modernism brings out the fever and fret, ugliness of modern times. The black paws of this time is so heavy that almost all writers are fed up, and exhausted with the feelings and emotionless world.
Q. Discuss the William Wordsworth as a poet of Nature?
All Romantic poets of the 19th century were the ardent lovers of Nature. Wordsworth is perhaps the greatest won shipper of Nature. Who spiritualises Nature, discovers the close connection between men and Nature and ultimately makes Nature a living being. He is a mystic poet who finds the oneness of God underlying the various physical manifestations of Nature. Hills, mountains, rocks, rivers, cataracts were the most enchanting and hypnotizing element.
Poet of Nature: - William Wordsworth is the poet of Nature in English literature. No other poets could be able to come so closely in contact of Nature. Al most in his every poem, he exposes Nature as a living being. He mention in Tin tern abbey - - -
‘The sounding cataract haunted me like a passion the tall rock, the mountains, their colours and forms, were then to me an appetite.’
Mysticism: - William Wordsworth is a mysticism poet. Mysticism is a temper rather than a doctrine, an atmosphere rather than a system of philosophy. It is in other words, a belief which is to be obtained .Though deep meditation or spiritual insight. The first trait of Wordsworth mysticism is his belief that god and his divine spirit pervade the entire universe, both animate and inanimate. It is in the thought of god that the universe exists and its life is in god’s thought.
Pantheism: - Wordsworth is the spokes man of the pantheism. He could see existence of God is every part of Nature. Nature was every thing to him and thought it to be the best guardians. When ever he would fall in problem, would like to escape from the anxieties of worldly like, he would come is contact with in Nature. He mention - - -
‘The anchor of my puniest thought, the nurse, the guard, the guardian and the soul of all my moral being.’
